“I want to thank the fans because I tweeted about this a lot,” she said as she accepted her trophy. “I really, really wanted this, and thank you so much for doing this for me. I feel really lucky because I have both the video director Anthony Mandler and my co-star Reeve Carney here tonight, and I’m so happy that they are here.”

Then, in a sly side note, Swift added another thank you.

“I also want to thank the person who inspired this song — who knows exactly who he is — because now I’ve got one of these,” she said.

She was too classy to name names, but she seemed just vindicated enough to make sure he knows she won.

In winning the female video of the year award, Swift edged out Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko’s “Stay,” Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” Pink featuring Nate Ruess’ “Just Give Me a Reason” and Demi Lovato’s “Heart Attack.” “I Knew You Were Trouble” was also nominated for video of the year.